


It's our time, starting now

by plikki



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Post-Hawk Moth Defeat, Sad with a Happy Ending, post-reveal
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-14
Updated: 2020-08-14
Packaged: 2021-03-06 02:00:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,346
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25895566
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/plikki/pseuds/plikki
Summary: Adrien has lost everything, but Marinette is there to show him that endings can be a new beginning.
Relationships: Adrien Agreste | Chat Noir/Marinette Dupain-Cheng | Ladybug
Comments: 17
Kudos: 98





	It's our time, starting now

**Author's Note:**

> Um, I don't know about you but I'm getting whiplash from all these different ideas. Fluff, smut, now angst? My brain is a total mess.  
> Anyway, this hurts but has a happy ending. Anyone surprised? 
> 
> Seasons come and go  
> Nothing lasts forever  
> We're all on borrowed time  
> And love's not set in stone  
> But life is now or never  
> You and I can make the world our own  
> (DJ Shah feat. Aruna - Now Or Never)

They stood at the base of the Eiffel Tower watching as the police took Gabriel and Nathalie away. They've come full circle from that first battle. The masks were now gone, all secrets had been revealed at the end. Now they were just Marinette and Adrien. Out of the corner of her eye, she took in his grim expression. She saw him shake his head as if trying to wake up from a bad dream only to realise that he wasn’t dreaming. 

When he finally turned around to look at her, she moved without thinking, wrapping her arms around him and bringing him close. God, he’d gotten so tall, was the thought that somehow surfaced in her foggy brain as she rested her head on his chest. She felt his arms around her, but the touch was tentative.

Unbidden, the image of the boy she’d first met so long ago came into her mind. The wide grin, the eyes shining with enthusiasm, the confidence, the never-ending optimism, the unshakable faith in the good in people.

Here he was now, weathered by time and disappointment. The light in his eyes a little dimmed, a sardonic curve to his smile, his heart, once so big and full of love, turned bitter from all the time he’d had to spend hiding, pretending he was alright, while constantly fighting loneliness. He even hesitated before hugging her even after she’d been the first to make a move.

Now that she finally knew who he was behind the mask, everything made so much sense. Changes she’d seen in Adrien and in Chat over the years were finally explained. Marinette’s heart ached for all that was lost. He deserved so much more after everything he’d been through. He deserved to be happy, loved. Instead he faced even more grief and sadness ahead as he came to terms with the grim reality.

“Don’t cry, m’lady,” she heard his voice. It was sad and tired and yet it still held a hint of that warmth he reserved only for her. She realised she was shaking with silent sobs while tears fell from her eyes. She hadn’t realised she was crying. 

This made her feel selfish, because she should be the one comforting him and instead he was still concerned about her. How was it possible that he was still this solid presence by her side, unwavering in spite of everything? 

He would have been within his right to run and hide, refuse to face the world, wallow in grief while leaving everyone else to deal with the aftermath She didn't think anyone would hold it against him. He’d lost everything. And yet, here he was. Shaken, disappointed, sad, but still there beside her. Standing tall and proud, refusing to be tainted by his father’s wrongdoing. 

She knew a part of this was for show, he’d probably break down later, it was impossible to hold it in forever, but she knew him too well and felt that he really was dealing with this better than expected. Maybe it was the years of coldness from his father that had alienated him. Maybe it was the fact that he was no longer that easily fooled boy. A part of him had been prepared for the bitter end, subconsciously maybe, hardening his heart in expectation of all that he’d have to accept. Although he couldn't have expected how bad it would be, not really. 

“I”m sorry,” she said. She didn’t know if she was apologising for crying or for everything he must be feeling now.

“Don’t be,” he replied.

“You don’t need to put up a front for me, you know.” She said, looking up at him. “You can shout, cry, kick something, whatever would make you feel better. I won’t judge you. You have all the right to do it.”

He smiled a sad smile. 

“Do you know what’s strange? That what I feel is relief. That I no longer have to put up with his ridiculous demands, to live the way he wants me to. I wanted so much to break free from his poisonous influence and I was so scared that I’d never be able to do it. Now it’s done. I admit, I would have preferred if it didn’t happen like that. I don’t wish his faith on anyone - to get so lost in one’s illusions and misguided megalomania. To not realise the full magnitude of the suffering you’re causing people because you believe in the sanctity of your cause. 

“He didn’t deal well with the loss of your mother, that’s for sure,” Marinette said, trying to sound understanding, although she didn’t have it in her yet to justify Gabriel’s actions. 

“I realise that but it’s still no excuse. As for Nathalie, I don’t even know what to think. I don’t know what clouded her judgement so much as to make her an accomplice in something so terrible.”

She had no answer to that.

They stood like that for a while, the dust settling around them, people losing interest in the former heroes. They all had seen them win, had seen the ordinary people behind the masks, some had realised their complicated relationship with the former villain. But it was quickly turning into old news. 

Wasn’t it strange, how they didn’t matter anymore now that Paris was free? But it was also an exhilarating thought. It reminded her that they were finally free. Maybe eyes would still be on them for a while, but never in the same way as before.

“Do you know what this means though?” She said.

“What?

“We can do whatever we want. We can go abroad, we can follow our dreams, we can.. “ her voice wobbled as tears filled her eyes again, “we can finally be together,” she whispered. Did he want it though, after everything they’d been through? After all the times she’d turned him down. After all the time he’d had to wait for them to reveal their identities.

To her surprise, the corners of his mouth lifted and his gaze softened. 

“That’s the other thing that’s keeping me up right now. Hope that we can finally have what we were denied for so long. God knows we deserve it.”

He lifted a hand to her cheek, a futile attempt to wipe a smudge, she was sure. Or was it just a tender gesture? She didn’t dare allow herself to hope. 

“Do you mean it?” He asked, his eyes following the movement of his finger. “That we can be together?”

“I do. I love you,” she said with surprising confidence. “It was prudence and stubbornness and everything else stopping me until now. I forbid myself to fall in love with you years ago, to no avail. But I couldn’t break my own rules. We had to wait.” Her hand fisted around the fabric of his shirt. “No more,” she vowed. “There is no longer a reason for us to put our own happiness on hold. You’ll no longer be on your own. I’ll be there with you, as long as you want me.”

She was amazed to see tears in his eyes for the first time. Out of everything that could make him cry that day, it was this? 

“Always, m’lady, always,” he said fervently. 

When he tilted her head upwards and crushed her lips with his, she was surprised. Not that she minded, the truth was she was dying to kiss him. It was just in such a sharp contrast with everything. There was a desperate edge to his kiss, maybe a hint of impatience? But it was also unbelievably gentle, so soft it felt out of place in this harsh reality. 

Maybe that was the beauty of it. That they could turn this end around, make it a new beginning instead. It was their chance to have it all. The grief and everything they’d faced couldn’t be erased. But it had made them who they were and they’d embrace it. They’d use it to become even stronger.

And most importantly, they would do it together. 

**Author's Note:**

> Full disclosure - I was listening to the song and that moment, of Marinette remembering Adrien as he used to be, appeared so clear in my mind. It made me cry because it hurts so much to imagine him having lost his childlike innocence in 4-5 years. 😢


End file.
